March 27, 2008

No More Crude in my Food

Today I watched the documentary Crude Awakening. It did a good job of instilling a sense of urgency about how unprepared we are to deal with life "after the peak," when the little bit of oil still available becomes very, very expensive. Along with all the things we take for granted, like car travel and food. Food?!

The film did not spend time letting individuals know what they could do to gain greater self-sufficiency through a low-carbon lifestyle now (the lovely footage of Amish horse carts notwithstanding). It's purpose may be to get us to demand political action, which surely is needed. But I would have liked to see some get-off-your-ass-and-act case studies. You know, people growing their own food or using farmers markets, otherwise becoming locavores, choosing organics for food and clothing, and giving vegetarian meals a chance now and then.

None of these things alone, or even cumulatively, will create more oil - but they do give us practice living with less, and help focus us less on despair and more on answers. For myself, I find I'm much more likely to demand support from my leaders if I know what's possible, rather than just what's wrong.

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